Thranduil's Daughter
by OtterLittleM
Summary: Thranduil has a half-breed daughter. She is half witch and half elf.
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

Thrandruil was working on writing a letter to Queen Islanzadi in Ellesméra when he heard a loud crack outside his door and then a soft a knock followed by another loud crack. Thranduil stood up and sighed. It had been a long day and he was not up for any nonsense. As he walked to the door, he thought about everything he had done and learned that day. Legolas had come back that day from his journey with the fellowship. He had never been happier to see his son and had spent most of the day with him. He had learned of all the things his son had done and was shocked to learn of his friendship with the dwarf Gimili, but he had to learn to live with it. Legolas has said Gimli would be coming in a few weeks to stay with them and negotiate terms to have some sort of peace between the two races. He shook his head at the thought and opened the door.

His jaw nearly dropped at the sight of the . . . the, well the thing at his feet. It was a baby in an Elfish basket wrapped in human blankets. Inside the bundle of blankets was, well, a baby girl. The baby was asleep, even through the loud noise. He picked up the basket and saw a note stuck in between the bundle of blankets that held the baby and the basket.

He set the basket and sleeping baby down on chair and picked up the note. The envelope had his name on the front in elegant writing and gold ink. It said this:

My dearest Thranduil,

This is our daughter. She is about 2 months old now. I found out I was pregnant about a month after we last saw each other. I know how many duties you have and that your son recently came back to you. However, over the past few months, I have discovered that I cannot care for her. She is not a normal magical child. She is not like any witch or wizard baby I have seen. She has inherited many of your elfish traits and can do many miraculous things. It scares me how advanced her magic is, I think that it is best if she stays and grows here, with you. I'm sorry I could not stay and introduce her and explain all of the wonderful things about her to you, all of her little quarks, but alas, I do not think I would be able to leave. It would pain me even more to see what me being there with you and her would do to you than it is to leave her with you. So, my darling, this is your daughter. I just ask you one thing, please do not ever tell her who I am. Send her to Hogwarts if you wish, but please do not tell her who I am.

Here is your daughter, Piper Amelia Greenleaf. May great things come your way.

There was no signature but he didn't need it. He knew exactly whom the letter was from. He turned to the baby girl, Piper. He watched her sleep for a long time. She was a beautiful baby girl, but what would he possibly tell his people, his son? He had so many duties as King, how could he possibly take care of a growing, half-breed child. He sat down in a chair across from the baby, his daughter, and put his head in his hands. Where did he go from here? The baby was here, he could not give the baby to someone else, surely it deserved to know at least one of its parents, some of its family. Then he shook his head, her parents, and her family. It was a little, baby girl, not an it he could get rid of as easily as she had come into his life.


	2. Chapter 2: Albus Dumbledore

-11 Years Later-

Thranduil was sitting in a private room. It was mid June according to a human calander. It was a room with no windows. The walls were made out of a wood that looked similar to bamboo. It was wood from an elfish tree, of which nothing was known of it in the human world. Then there was a knock on the door. Thranduil looked up from a parchment on his lap and said, "Come in."

Professor Albus Dumbledore entered the room and Thranduil sighed. Dumbledore raised his eyebrows, gestured towards a chair opposite Thranduil, and asked, "May I sit?" Thranduil nodded and didn't say a word. Dumbledore sat and said, "I trust you have been receiving my owls?" Thranduil nodded and replied coldly, "I have been. Why should I send my daughter to, to the school of yours? We are perfectly capable of teaching her here."

Dumbledore replied, "We need to teach her our laws, how to control her magic that comes from her mother's side. I can ensure that no one finds out who you are or where she comes from, if you wish. "

Thrranduil replied, "And, why can't she be taught your laws and how to control this magic from her mother's side here? She can learn quite capably here."

Dumbledore sighed and replied, "Who would teach her?"

"I can find someone."

"It would be better if she went to school, met people her own age. How many people her age are here?" Dumbledore gave him a stern look.

Thranduil replied quite coldly, "There is no one here of her age. However, I think, considering my power here, and the considerable amount of power she holds, it would be better if she were here. I'm also quite aware of the war that ended around the time of her birth. I believe that you can thank a human baby for that and if my calculations are correct, he will be in the same year as my daughter."

Dumbledore replied, "That is correct. However, she needs to learn social skills with, as you would probably refer to her mother's race, humans. She is half-human and it would be good for her to know her other half. No one has to know who you are. As for Harry, there are no guarantees Voldmort will return to power soon. Your daughter's power should protect her and if she doesn't flaunt it, Voldemort will ignore her, for now."

Thranduil stood up and said angrily, "For now? For NOW? My daughter will not be subjected to possible dangers because of-of some idiot human!"

"Please calm down. According to our laws, she must attend some sort of schooling in the wizarding world, wheather it be at home or at Hogwarts. Her mother requested she come to Hogwarts. "

Thranduil sat down and nodded. "I know what she wished. She sent me an owl about 6 months after she left Piper in my care. She informed me that she wanted Piper to get a full education, she wanted Piper to be aware of both of her sides, or as she put it, both of her worlds." He was silent for a moment and then Thraduil sighed. "Alright, she can go to Hogwarts on September first as long as someone from the school takes her to attain her school supplies and that she comes back here for schooling from elves. However, you must understand, I will not and cannot visit her there. I will not send her letters or contact her. She will come home over holidays. You will not tell anyone who I am and I will not involve myself or any of my people in another wizarding war, should this Voldemort come back to any sort of power."

Dumbledore nodded and replied, "I will have Hagrid, my grounds keeper, come pick up Piper in August to go to Diagon Alley and buy her school supplies. I assume you have money for the school supplies? If not, the school has money for students to buy supplies."

"I have the money."

Dumbledore nodded, stood up, and replied, "Well, I'll be going now. I hope to hear from you soon and I am excited for Piper to be coming to Hogwarts in September." Thranduial nodded and went back to his pouring over his scroll. Dumbledore then apparated out.


	3. Chapter 3: The End of the Year

The next day Thranduil told Piper that he would be sending her to a boarding school in the human world. She too it much better than he had expected; instead of anxiety and terror at the human world, she replied with excitement in her voice, "You mean there are going to be children my age there?!"

Thranduil nodded and replied with a fake smile, "Yes."

"Where is this school?"

"In the north."

Piper started jumping up and down. Thranduil bent down, picked her up, and swung her around. Piper, thinking this was hystarical laughed and said, "Dad, stop it!" He smiled and sat down with her in his lap. "Now Piper," Thranduil got a serious look on his face before continuing, "You can't tell anyone who I am or where you're from." Piper looked confused and asked, "Why not?"

Thranduil sighed, expecting this from his eleven year old. But how to explain to her that people would to take advantage of her, of their people? They would expect them to eliminate Voldmort, should he ever come back to power. All of middle earth had worked so hard to conceal Middle Earth since the dawning of the fourth age, since the fall of Sauron. No humans, besides Albus Dumbledore, knew of it's existence. The elves that had gone to the west, where they now lived among humans, knew of their existence but kept silent. However, Thranduil replied, "Because it's too dangourous. Now go play."

Piper nodded and said, "I'm going to go find Legolas and tell him." She gave him a very serious nod and then skipped off to find her older brother.

Two months passed, Hagrid came and brought Piper to Diagon Alley and got her school supplies. A few short weeks later, another wizard came and brought her to the train station. Thranduil wasn't sure of his name, but he was pretty sure he had said Kingsly. Always made Thranduil think of kings weed. . .

A year passed and Piper came back. She had been sorted into a house called Ravenclaw. She had apperently become friends with a boy named Neville Longbottom, which Thranduil thought was a very odd name for a boy. However, most of the wizards customs were odd. She had told him how Harry Potter had defeated a Dark Lord and a servant of his, who was a teacher at the school. She said something about the Dark Lord wanting the Philosopher's stone.

However, through all of that, she had loved it. She had loved the library the most and had spent much of her free time there reading on the history of the Wizarding World outside of Middle Earth. Thranduil was happy and sad at the same time.

He was sad, and quite honestly a bit scared, that his daughter was entering a world where neither he nor his son could protect her. None of the elves would be able to help her if things got tricky or if she had trouble with her homework over the summer. She couldn't see her friends. She was lucky he was allowing owls between her and her friend Neville and another girl she had started talking to named Hermione.

He was happy because for once in her short life, she had friends that weren't hundreds of years older than her. She was interested in her heritage, in her history.

However, the sad, scared, melancholy feeling he had would not leave him. Somehow, he know she wouldn't always look at the world with such awe.


	4. Chapter 4: 5 Years Later

-5 Years Later-

Piper Greenleaf was 16 years old. A rebellious teenager, most elves attributed it to her human side. However rebellious she was, it never ruined her relationship with her brother or her father. However, her and her father had a strained relationship.

Piper was constantly pushing limits with her father. Always asking about her mother, who she was, what she did, where was she now.

Legolas and Piper were walking through the woods late one night. They were talking; this was not unusual for them. Legolas looked at Piper and asked, "Do you really enjoy that school you go too? It seems, a bit, well, dangerous." Piper shook her head and answered, "I enjoy it. I have friends."

"Those oddities?" Piper looked at him disdainfully and replied, "Luna, Neville, and Hermione are not oddities."

"Well, maybe not that Granger girl. She seems to be good for you. Intelligent, good head on her. However, that Longbottom boy and that Lovegood girl, they're the outsiders. With your status, you should become more friends with people like Granger and possibly that Wesley boy."

Piper looked at Legolas and said, "They don't know who I am. They never will. You know what father always tells me, I can't tell anyone who I am. I can't tell anyone that I'm royalty; I can't tell them who you are or who father is. I can't tell them who I am or anything about our family."

Legolas looked at her and said, "You go back in a month. You have two years left. You know what Elrond has seen."

Piper nodded and replied, "I know what Elrond says. He says that Voldemort is gaining power every day, that the war is effecting the non-magical population more and more every day. That Potter will be in great danger, as will Ron and Hermione."

Legolas nodded and said seriously, "All of your friends will be. Luna, Neville, they will be in great danger. If you hang around them, you will be too."

Piper turned around and stopped Legolas in his tracks. They stared at each other for a moment and then Piper said in a very frustrated voice, "And I'm not here? We're freaking royalty Legolas! And how do we know Sauron isn't going to crawl back from the grave? Or that one of his servants isn't going to come back and try to take revenge at his death?"

Legolas replied seriously, "I think you're picking up a little too much of your British friends slang."

Piper looked at him with a frustrated look on her face. She then leaned in for a hug. Legolas grabbed her and held her tightly. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I just don't want you to be in harm's way. I do not want you to end up in danger, as I was. Granted, I did it willingly, to help Frodo destroy the ring. I do not regret a single moment of it either. I gained many friends, but I lost many as well. However, I don't know if I could stand knowing that you had been killed in battle."

They stood on the path for a few minutes. Then Piper stepped away, looked at him, and said, "I don't know what I would do without you, Legolas. You are an amazing brother."

Legolas looked at her and said, "It must be weird for you though, all of your human friends being so close in age to their siblings, to their parents. There a hundreds of years just between you and I, between you and father."

Piper shrugged and replied, "It doesn't bother me. It is something I grew up with, I didn't know there was any other option until I was eleven years old and went to Hogwarts."

Legolas looked at her and gave a small laugh. He then said, "But you met friends close to your age. You spend 9 months around people within a few years of your age. Here, there are a few hundred years between you and the youngest person here. It must be weird to you, having to switch back and forth between the two, and I am so sorry for having to put it crudely, but the two worlds."

Piper looked away and started blinking rapidly. Legolas put a hand on her face and turned her face towards him. He then wiped away the tears that had started coming down her face. Legolas knew she was holding back many tears. He knew they were tears of rage and tears of sadness. They were tears of confusion. The tears in her eyes and coming down her face were all of these and more. He pulled her into a tight hug.

Legolas held her tightly, he felt her arms around him holding on for what felt like her life. Legolas knew there were a thousand thoughts running through her head. He probably knew her the best out of anyone in the Woodland realm. He knew her better than anyone outside of Middle Earth did, considering how much she had to hide. A million thoughts were going through his head as well. He wanted to be protecting her. He wanted her to stay in Middle Earth with him and their father. It would be so much easier for him to help her if she spent all of her time in Middle Earth.

Piper pushed away from him and said to Legolas, "I'm going to run." She then started running down the path in the forest. He yelled, "Be back in an hour. If you're not I'm telling father that you were out late again without me."

Piper just waved to him and said, "I'll be back before anyone notices that you are back and I am not."

Legolas sighed, turned around, and went back to the palace in which they lived. While he was walking back he wondered how things were going to play out over the next two years and hoping that Piper didn't get dragged into anything dangerous. Legolas was extremely protective of his sister. If anything happened to his sister, there would possibly be a war on his father's hand.


	5. Chapter 5: A Conversation

Piper got back long after Legolas had told to her to be back. Thranduil was pacing back and forth, waiting for his daughter to return. Piper slipped in trying to avoid being noticed by her father. Thraduil quickly turned around, hearing his daughter. "You know, you are not nearly as quite as you believe yourself to be, daughter."

Piper avoided his eyes. "I understand why you left your brother. I understand that you need time to yourself. You have been under a lot of stress. However, I do not understand why you did not come back when he told you to be here."

Piper shifted her weight from side to side. Thranduil walked towards her and said, "Piper look at me. Answer me."

Piper looked at him directly into his eyes. "I wasn't planning on being caught."

Thranduil stopped right in front of his daughter, trying to remain calm. He just wanted to protect her, to make her understand that there were people, elves, human, dwarves, who would like nothing more than to kill her to get to him. She was too young to suffer such pain, at least in the Elvin world. In her mother's world, she was quite close to be considered an adult. At the age of 17, Thranduil knew there was nothing keeping her from joining the war that was brewing in the London Wizarding world.

Thranduil sighed and said in a low, unhappy voice, " Do you understand that right before your arriving here as a young baby, that a war had just ended here? Not all of Sauron's were captured and taken into custody. They could still be wandering around. Your brother was instrumental in ensuring Frodo's safety to destroy the Ring of Power. They could be looking for revenge."

Piper nodded. "I understand." "Then why in the world do you spend so much time, alone, in the forest? You are royalty. People will use you as revenge against your brother or me. As young as you are, others in our country look up to you."

Once again, Piper nodded. She looked at him with a rebellious look in her eyes and replied, "In the Wizarding world I could fight in the war. Soon, anyways. Hermione, Neville, Luna, and their friends are already helping fight the war."

"You are not there. I am your father. You will respect my rules. Are we clear?" Piper nodded and replied, "Yes, father."

Thranduil replied, "Good. If this happens again, there will be severe consequences. No more of these conversations."

Piper nodded and then replied, "Now, if you don't mind, I am going to go to my room and work on homework." Her tone of voice was very rude. She then started walking towards the stairs that led to her room.

Thranduil grabbed her by the arm. He had a gentle but firm grasp on her arm. Thranduil was much stronger than his daughter was. Part of it was due to her young age, the other part of it was due to her half-blood status. She looked at her father and then asked, "What father? I already agreed not to break any more of your rules. What else could you possibly want?"

Thranduil looked at her and said, "You will respect me. Now, you are far behind in your learning her in Mirkwood. You must catch up. I agreed for you to have private lessons with Tegilbor. Now. . ."

Piper interrupted, "The librarian?!" Thranduil nodded and looked at her with a serious look on his face. His voice was kind but matter of fact. He told her, "You will go to the library and he will instruct you in our history. He is the only one who agreed to teach you and for that, you are very lucky. He is the one of the most educated elves who remained here after the war."

Piper stared at him. She then said in a tremulous voice, "I heard that some of those elves are returning."

He nodded. "Lord Elrond is returning to Rivendell. He feels that he is more useful here."

"Lord Elrond is legendary. His powers of healing and foresight are some of the best!"

Thranduil nodded and then said, "Yes, he will be stopping through on his way back to Rivendell. I expect you to be on your best behavior."

Piper nodded. "Understood," she said. Thranduil recognized the resigning in her voice but there was a bit of resentment in her voice. Thranduil pulled her into a hug. Piper was very tense, resisting the hug.

"I know I am hard on you and that I expect a lot from you. It's because I know you are capable of great things. However, my daughter, I love you with all of my heart, as does your brother."

"I know, father."

Thranduil put Piper at arm's length and lifted her face to ensure that she was looking at him. "My daughter, you will thank me someday for this."

"Elrond told you something about me didn't her?" Thrandiul nodded and then replied in a low voice, "Lord Elrond did have a vision concerning you. I will tell you what he saw when I feel you are ready. However, you are not ready. You are half elf, so I have high expectations from you. I do not want any more letters from your Headmaster saying that you are skipping classes or that you are insulting your classmates."

Piper nodded. "Understand, father." Thranduil smiled and then pulled her into a tight hug again. Thranduil never hugged her in front of people outside of the family and even then, he hardly showed any physical hug. Piper hugged him back this time and held him tightly. "My daughter, I love you even though I may not always show it. I do not mean to drive you away. I promise that someday I will answer all of your questions about your mother. Although, I can tell you, I have no idea why she left you in my care without telling me a reason. I was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. I got a beautiful daughter out of it whom I would have never known if she hadn't left you outside of my office door. I may not be able to tell you what happened but when you are of age in the wizarding world I will support you in whatever decision you make about your mother."

Elizabeth replied in a raspy voice, clearly trying not to cry, "I love you father." "I love you too. Now, go sleep. I know you don't do that much." He gave a small laugh and smiled as she left. "It's not my fault," she said, still holding back her tears, "I like to read." He nodded and said, "I know."

He walked to his bedroom and sat down on his bed. He sighed. He was wondering what he was going to do with his daughter. His bright, rebellious, half-breed daughter. There were some elves who were not fans of her being a half-breed. For a while, there were rumors going around that he was covering for someone else who had a half-breed child. Slowly, as she grew, the family resemblance was to close for anyone to say that she wasn't his daughter. The repercussions were then thrown onto his child at the age of 6. Legolas and Piper had developed a strong bound when she around that time. She was amazed at his bow so Legolas made her one of her own and started teaching her how to shoot. She clearly had her brother's skill in shooting. He laughed and decided to sleep on it. Maybe a solution would come to him in his sleep.


	6. Chapter 6: Frustration

Piper had finished her homework and was now passing in her room. She was furious. How could her father do this? She didn't want a private tutor. She wanted to be normal. Why did she have to be a half-breed? It caused her so many problems. She had so many secrets. She was close friends with Hermione and Luna but she couldn't tell them some of the most important things about her. She couldn't tell them where she lived or any details about her family. All because her father didn't want their precious homeland invaded by witches and wizards looking for help in the war that they had nothing to do with.

Piper continued to pace back and forth in her room. Her sword, bow, and arrows were sitting by the door. She stopped and stared at them for a moment. Then Piper grabbed them and went down to the practice fields. Unfourtnetly, the ones she had to use were under her father's window. Hopefully she wouldn't wake him. Usually practicing helped her to calm down. It also helped her to focus her thoughts enough to come up with a solution.

When she got there, she pulled an arrow out of the quiver and put it in her bow. She started shooting.

Unknown to her, her father was watching from his window. He sighed. What was he going to do with his daughter? He loved her so much but there had been rumors of a darkness growing in Middle Earth. He had to protect her from war. She was too young and there was already a war starting in the wizarding war. There was only so much he could do to protect her from the horrors of that war. It wasn't his world. Legolas wasn't the same since he had gotten back from the war of the ring. This was understandable; his son had seen so much death. That had been a horrible war.

Thranduil sighed. He decided to go down and talk with his daughter. He knew the look on her face all too well. It was the look that her mother would get when she was upset, frustrated, angry, or a combination of the three. He guessed it was all three plus some confusion at his words earlier that evening.

Thranduil stood and watched his daughter. She was quite a good shot. He then started walking towards her. Piper saw a shadow moving towards her and she quickly turned around with her bow drawn.

Thranduil put his hands up, "It's just me, my daughter."

Piper lowered her bow and unstrung it. She stared at him for a moment and said, "Hello, father."

Thranduil put his hands behind his back and stood a little straighter. "I am sorry for upsetting you this evening. However, it's because I don't want you to get hurt in a war that has nothing to do with you. The war in the wizarding war does not have to effect you if you don't want it to."

Piper shrugged and replied with a bit of resent in her voice, "But it does, father. I am half witch. Half human. Only half of me is elf. I am not a part of either world. That scares me. I can't just have one person to talk to when I have questions. Whom do I talk to when I have questions about my homework in the summer for Hogwarts? Whom do I talk to when I'm at Hogwarts and I'm having problems with my elfish magic?"

Thrandiul sighed. "This year, you may send owls back and forth."

Piper stayed at him wide eyed. "Really?"

Thranduil nodded. "If it would help, I think we should take that step and see where it leads."

She stared at him.

"Piper, it's not polite to stare."

Piper nodded and blinked. "Uh, right. You're really going to let me send you letters here? No strings attached?"

Thranduil nodded and said, "No strings attached." He then looked up at the moon. "It's a nice night for a walk. Why don't you put your weapons away and we go for a walk? I think we have a few things to talk about, my daughter."

Piper nodded, grabbed her weapons, and walked off to put them away.

Thranduil watched as his daughter walked away. She was strong willed and rebellious, yes, but she was smart and kind. His heart ached when he thought of her future. She could only choose one life. But, which would she choose? A mortal life or an immortal life?

Whatever she choose, it would change the fate of the world.


	7. Chapter 7: Tiger Lilies

Piper returned empty handed but Thandriul knew that her mind was far from empty. He could feel angry energy radiating from her. Piper was the only one whose feelings he knew just by her being in the same general area. He had no idea why and none of his trusted scholars could figure it out either. Nonetheless, Thandriul found it more and more useful as the years past. Piper became more reclusive as she got older and Thandriul feared he would lose her forever. She stopped in front of him and fidgeted. Thandriul hid his laughter; it was one of the few human factors that was quite evident. Elves hardly ever fidgeted but Piper did all the time. They began walking silently into the woods. They walked a trail quite a bit when Piper was a young child. They stopped when Piper started to go to Hogwarts and Thandriul's duties picked up. There was a bit of unrest in Mirkwood. Some of the elves were still uneasy with their new alliance with the dwarves. It was not an easy treaty and not all of the citizens were happy. Legolas, Thandriul, and Gimili were working together on how to fix the disputes but the disputes were slowly turning violent. Each time, the violence increased. Blood hadn't been shed yet but it was only a matter of time.

The trail was now overgrown with flowers, tall grass, weeds, and other plants. There were many tiger lilies across the path, which made Thandriul smile. Tiger lilies were Piper's favorite flowers. Piper loved the bright orange color and the smell of them. In the summer, she would cover her room with them. Tiger lilies began to grow in her room. Her room was built in the trees. She had a wonderful view of the forest surronding them. Piper would spend much of her free time drawing the forest and various of Mirkwood. Thandriul and Piper walked in silence. Piper then said, "I kind of like the path overgrown, it's beautiful. Although, it was a lot easier to walk when it looked like a trail." Thandriul chuckled. "Are you excited for school to start again?" Piper nodded and said, "Yes. I'm excited to see my friends again but many of my teachers say this is going to be a very challenging year." Thandriul nodded, noting the fear in her voice. "What are you so afraid of? The fear in your voice is not fear of the challenging year." Piper sighed. "The war is getting worse. The tension is building and it is going break but I don't know when or how. I don't know what to do to help. My friends, they're going to get hurt. They could die." Thandriul heard the fear grow in her voice and at the end of her voice; she was nearly to the point of tears. Thandriul didn't know what to do, he didn't know how to help her. How could he help his daughter? No one knew anything about half breeds much less ones who were so invested in a war that would change the world. Thandriul stopped and pulled his daughter into a tight hug and for the second time that night, she hugged him back as tightly as she could. He could feel her body shake as she cried softly. He held her and stroked her hair. All the while, he was wishing he could take her fear, her anger and her guilt and remove it from her. He wanted her to be happy. He was willing to do whatever it took, he would take it as his own if he could. It wasn't possible though, even with elves magic. Thandriul could stop it for a while, make her pain, her sorrow, her anger leave her for a while but it had been proven many times over the years that when it returned, the person would only feel worse. Thandriul held Piper while she sobbed and each sob grew stronger and louder. Piper felt a sense of relief to allow herself to cry in front of her father. It made her feel better to have him hold her and show his love. They stood there for hours but neither noticed the passing of time.


	8. Chapter 8: The Oak Tree

Piper then pushed herself away from her father and ran into the woods. Thandriul stood where she left him, stunned. He didn't know what made her run. He didn't know what caused her to feel so much guilt and confusion. Thandruil didn't run after her even though he wanted to know what was causing her so much pain. However, he knew where she was going. There as old, burnt oak that stood alone. The tree was blackened from a fire. Long ago, dragons had burnt it; this was during the war in Aligesha when Galbtorix was rising to power. The dragons had burnt it to use it as a landmark. It marked where Mirkwood began and where the dragons could safely land. There was a mile between the oak and the forest of Mirkwood. That place was used as healing and refuge. Dragons would make the long fight across the sea to seek refuge in Mirkwood's forest. Thandriul's predecessor was a very kind man, one of the kindest in Mirkwood's history but he feared dragons. He knew little about them so he had no idea that the ones in Aligasha were intelligent and that they could understand treaties. Thus, their refuge was at the edge of Mirkwood. The dragons were allowed to stay there and hunt in the forest as long as the animals were not hunted to extinction. The dragons kept their end of the bargain and the elves of Mirkwood kept their end of the bargain. Even though the deal was kept and the dragons brought the elves many gifts to show their appreciation, the elves still feared the dragons. They tolerated the dragons at best. The dragons were never heard from again after Galbatorix gained power. Communication from Aligasia was limited after that. There was an occasional letter from the elves or the Varden but it only happened once or twice every five years or so. Thandriul hadn't heard from Islanzadi since the night Piper arrived in front of his door. The history of the tree was long and much of it was complicated. Thandriul often wondered if Piper related to the dragons. Piper was hardly accepted by the elves and even Dumbledore seemed scared of her. Piper had few friends at Hogwarts and many of them seemed to considered oddities.

Piper stood by the Oak Tree, staring into the distance. All she could see was the sea. Piper enjoyed the strong wind whirling around her, the smell of the salt water. Swimming always scared Piper but she loved hear and watching the crashing of the waves. The tree and the sea reminded her that she wasn't the only one to be isolated and rejected She walked to the edge of the cliff and stuffed her hands inside the pockets of her dark, blue silk cloak. The cliff went straight down two hundred feet. The wall of the cliff had many unexplored caves on it. No one dared to explore them. At the bottom, there were many sharp, jagged rocks. The waves always crashed down on the waves, quickly, one right after the other. The waves were strong.

Piper felt a pang in her heart. Whenever she was in Mirkwood, Piper missed everyone she knew at Hogwarts. She missed the castle of Hogwarts, the moving pictures, and the library. However, whenever she was at Hogwarts, Piper missed her family in Mirkwood. Piper also missed the yellowing parchments in the library.

Piper closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She smelled the salt water and the smells of the forest. The trees in Mirkwood were centuries old; Piper could smell their age, all that they had seen. Piper could smell the rich soil and the grass still smelt of rain from the night before. The smells were stronger here than at Hogwarts. At Hogwarts, the trees were decades old rather than centuries old. The lake was fresh water.

Piper opened her eyes and looked around. The longing in her heart was still there. Confusion still clouded her mind. Piper walked over to the tree. The blackened tree had many roots in the ground but there was a large formation of roots on the ground. The formation looked like a hammock. Piper walked to the formation and curled into the fetal position. There were a large number of leaves that had fallen from many seasons past. It made for a decent place to sleep but Piper wished she had brought a blanket. Her father wouldn't mind, not if it was just tonight. Piper fell asleep praying that her confusion would become clear. She prayed that her anger and guilt about her linage would disappear in the night. Who Piper was praying to, she didn't know. Piper didn't believe in any higher power. Piper fell asleep with confusion rolling through her head.

Thandriul came to where she was, long after she had fallen asleep and placed a blanket over his daughter. The one thing he could do for his daughter was keep her warm on a cold night.


	9. Chapter 9: A Late Night

Thandriul did not sleep that night, he was waiting to hear his daughter walk inside and slip into her bedroom next door. She had always had the bedroom next to his office and bedroom. When she was a baby, Thandriul wanted her nearby in case she began to cry. As a single father and royalty, many suggested that he have someone watch her for him. Thandriul refused. He had always said that he would raise Piper himself. Thandriul wanted Piper to know him. He wanted to know her and to show her that he cared. Especially since Piper had never known her mother - and never would. This was an unusual thing in Mirkwood. Thandriul knew deep in his heart that it was the best desicion he had ever made.

The entire night, Thandriul wrote letters, read documents submitted by his advisors, and many other things. The piles of parchments that had covered most of his desk began to diminish. The sun rose and Piper wasn't home. Thandriul felt worry rise up in his stomach. He decided to wait for a couple more hours. If she wasn't home then, he would go looking for her. Piper had been known to come home in the early morning hours.

At about six AM, Thandriul heard Piper slip into her room and into her bed. He left out a small sigh of relief. His daughter was home safely. As Thandriul began to orginize his papers, an owl flew in through his open window. It dropped a letter onto his desk and flew out the way it had come in. Thandriul turned over the letter. As he thought, the Hogwarts crest was keeping the envelope sealed.

Thandriul stared at the letter, not wanting to open it. He hadn't heard anything from Hogwarts since Piper's eleventh birthday. He had sent her to school, done everything Albus had asked. What could he possibly want now?


	10. Chapter 10: Slipping back home

Piper awoke to find a blanket covering her. She sat up pulling her legs to her chest. She watched the sunrise over the sea. Piper listened to the waves crashing slowly. The waves below her were much slower than they had been the night before.

Piper wondered who had put the blanket over her. She guessed it had been the librarian; he was the only one that she had told about her hiding spot. As the sun rose, Piper wondered what she was going to tell her father. He was going to ask where she had gone and where she had slept. He would ask what she had done. What did she say? Piper stood up and wrapped the blanket around her. She decided that she would just slip into bed, act as if she had spent the night in her bed. Piper would take care of the leaves in her when she got back into her room.

She started to walk back to where she, her father, and her brother lived. She walked slower than she normally did. Piper wanted to enjoy the fresh air, the smell right before it rained. When she reached her bedroom, she saw her father's light was on. She thought to herself, that he must have gotten up early to do some important business. It was like him to do that. She slipped into her room and sat on her bed.

She starred out of her window. It was a small window, surrounded by vines. The vines had small white flowers on them but they were dying now. It was the end of the summer, almost time for her to go back to Hogwarts. She was excited to go back but she wanted to stay here. Hogwarts was as much her home as Mirkwood was.


	11. Chapter 11: Decisions, Decisions

Piper paced the length of her room. She couldn't sit still. Her body was as restless as her mind. She paced for hours. The sun was high in the sky when Piper heard a knock on her door. She ignored it. Piper continued to pace. She didn't want to talk to anyone. The thoughts in her head were louder than any words anyone could speak. She had to decide if she was going back to Hogwarts. The wizarding world was on the brink of war. It was like a stack of unstable children's blocks. One wrong move, on breath and it would come crashing down on top of them. In Mirkwood, there were whispers of orcs on the edge of the forests. Her father had been sending scouts in groups of two or three to investigate. There had been signs of orcs. There were bones from animals, burnt logs from a crudely made fire. However, there were not sightings of an orc. Her father never said so but it made him nervous. Not knowing how to protect his people and his family always had.

Piper heard the knock again. It yanked Piper out of her head. She stopped pacing and turned to face the door. She said and did nothing. She starred and waited. Piper hopped that her silence would send whoever it was away. It didn't.

Piper heard her brother's voice saying, "Piper, open the door." Then, silence. Piper sat on her bead and started writing. She acted as if she had been doing her homework all day. Piper then said, "Come in."

Legolas walked in and sat across from her on her bed. Piper refused to look up. She loved her brother and was close to him. She was probably closer to him than anyone in their family, but she wanted to be left alone in her whirlpool of thoughts. Legolas didn't leave as Piper knew he wouldn't.

Legolas then too took her homework away from her gently. Piper glared at him and made him sit in silence. All Piper could think was, why did my brother have to care so much? It would make Piper's decision easier if someone would just stop caring. If Piper didn't have a few friends that loved her so much, if she didn't her classes. If Mirkwood wasn't so beautiful, if she wasn't so close to her brother than maybe Piper would be able to make a decision. That was all she could think. Legolas put Piper's homework onto the ground and smiled at her. "I know what you're thinking. You don't have to choose one or the other. You could be an ambassador."

Piper shook her head and whispered, "Father would never allow it." Legolas stood up and kissed piper on top of her head. "Stranger things have happened." Legolas then left Piper sitting alone on her bead. Be an ambassador to the wizarding world, what an absurd idea. There had never been an ambassador to the wizarding world. Piper stood up and walked to her window. She looked down. The wall was covered in thick green vines. It had been that way as far as anyone could remember. Piper climbed onto her windowsill and began to climb down the wall. No one would notice her absence, not if she was only gone for a few hours.

Unknown to her, Thandruil had caught a glimpse of her climbing down her wall from a small window. He watched as she began to run. Thandriul knew that Piper would be back. She always ran when her head was full of thoughts. Thandriul knew she would be back but the worry didn't leave his heart. He was worried about his daugher, the halfbreed.


End file.
